A sex scandal involving a woman who works for him caused him to quit. It was at the Trenton National Guard headquarters, where the Associated Press reports the married father of two and his aide were in a “compromising position.” The two were “caught in his office last month touching each other.”

Sources tell CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer the incident has been under investigation since early last month.

Rieth was a prominent member of Christie’s cabinet, a childhood friend of the governor’s who had commanded more than 9,000 soldiers and airmen in the Garden State’s Guard.

Officials said it was unclear if Rieth and the woman were having an affair or whether there were other incidents. The woman is married and she and her husband are social friends of the major general.

Rieth had first been appointed to the position by Democratic Gov. James McGreevey, who had his own sex scandal involving a male cabinet member.

In accepting his resignation, Gov. Christie said: “This is obviously a difficult time for his family and General Rieth did the right thing by stepping down to address this as a personal matter.”

And although they were childhood friends, Rieth apparently did not go to the governor until after the Army started its investigation.

Rieth’s resignation becomes effective on Dec. 15. His replacement has not been named.

Rieth’s Trenton office was all locked up and dark Thursday night. So was his Ewing home, where there were no lights on and no answer at the door.

Neighbor Alden French said he has said hello to Rieth nearly every day for the past 15 years.

“I’m just shocked. I don’t know what to say,” French told CBS 2’s Sean Hennessey. “They seemed like such a happy family. You know they were always together, they’d do things together. I just don’t understand it.”

One Comment

If we could separate all sexual activity from work performance (no pun intended), spend the same amount of energry we use on reality TV, fantasy football (Yes, i have a FFL Team (guilty)), and trying to not pay taxes, etc… We could probably re-focus a ton of energy to find the cure for cancer, provide shelter to the homeless, and solve scores of problems. Let’s just be honest, grown ups hook up regardless of their marital status, religion, political affiliation and career choice. We ask military people to be Type A killers, sacrifice unbelevable things and then pile on them when they have a bad day. Let’s all just clean our own closets (me included) and let these two handle their scandal at home!

It appears that the affair, as reported here, was consensual and not a crime. While his wife may certainly force him to resign from his marriage, how does this affect his military career? Clinton cheated. He didn’t resign. (and he lied, too)

If she was also a commander, nothing would be done to either of them. He was her boss and as such is prohibited from engaging in any kind of romantic relationship with her, consensual or not. The military has very clear-cut rules about this and he violated them. They can try him in military court if they want and that’s why he’s resigning. It beats being dishonorably discharged

How can this bum command a couple of thousand soldiers when he is unable to command his own fly to stay shut. What is going on with this nation? Pedophiles, Cheaters, corrupted judges and politicians, banks robbing people, deceptions and outright lies from the top. If this bum had any spare energy, why not play soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq, like our brave boys do!! Sure it is much easier to hit the sack with a doll instead of stepping on a mine or wrestling a Taliban to the ground.